Govt provides platform for security app makers

Applications must be audited by a CERT-IN approved vendor

Students and youngsters developing applications related to security can showcase their products on an official platform from now on.

The Union Home Ministry has created mysecurity.gov.in, an e-platform to encourage “individuals, students, companies and NGOs” to develop security-related applications.

The platform is also intended to give public an opportunity to have access to a large number of security applications, which comply with the information security and privacy requirements, a government note said.

Developers will not be paid any remuneration by the government but they will be allowed to use “some space” in their applications for advertisement.

The note said the recent advancements in information technology have been significantly changing lives and they are being used to improve security of people through applications which are available in public domain. “These applications have great potential of improving the security apparatus around us,” it said.

The platform is also expected to promote competition among developers of applications to continuously improve their applications. It will also promote innovation in developing security-related applications, a senior Home Ministry official said.  

The priority areas for developing applications include providing security in emergency situations to women, children and senior citizens, creating awareness about good security practices and educating them about legal provisions.

The government also wants applications facilitating legal services, easy reporting of crime and monitoring of objectionable content on internet among other things.

Developers can apply on the portal or send their  applications to  [e-mail]. Each application must comply with the latest security standards and must get audited by one of the CERT-IN approved vendors.

Once the application passes the security audit, it will be allowed to be deployed in mysecurity.gov.in. The developer will have to transfer the code of the application to the Ministry cloud and maintain the application on a regular basis.Any application which is not maintained properly will be removed from MHA cloud, the note said. 

The developers will be allowed hardware and middleware resources to deploy their applications for an initial period of six months as per the protocol defined by the ministry.

The application will be evaluated through feedback received from public as well as an expert group that will look at parameters like usefulness, innovation, public acceptance, technology used, maintenance and updation.